


Ease Your Feet Into the Sea

by cixth



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 04:19:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cixth/pseuds/cixth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing to do with the sea despite its title and everything to do with tattoos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ease Your Feet Into the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> belated birthday fic for a friend 
> 
> eventually going to be part of a series involving Nitori in America being punkrock that'll be written up some day.

It’s their fifth anniversary and Haru insisted on designing a tattoo for Makoto. Makoto doesn’t think it’s a good idea—not because Haru draws poorly, it’s the opposite in fact, but because the idea of a tattoo makes Makoto cringe just thinking of a needle entering his skin.

It’s well designed, simple, even; a minimalistic pair of wings to go across the span of his back. Just a simple pair of feathered wings connected to thin claw like structures where the wings start to spread across his shoulder blades. Makoto thinks it could be worse—something large, spread out further, coloured even—but _still_ , it’s a _tattoo_. Something permanent to be on his skin. Forever.

But of course Haru’s way of thinking is never as simple as most people would assume. Once he hands over his sketch of what he wants Makoto to get inked, he asks—demands—that Makoto design him a tattoo too. Makoto tries to reason with Haru (‘Haru-chaaaaaan, you _know_ I can’t draw’ ‘Drop the –chan. And I don’t care, it’s only fair’).

So Makoto acquiesces to Haru’s demands (as he always does), and draws him something.

It’s a small, chibi depiction of a whale. When met with Haru’s questioning look, Makoto only smiles (the smile he seems to reserve for Haru alone) and says that this way Haru will always have a piece of Makoto with him.

Haru only offers Makoto one of his rare smiles, the little ones where his mouth twitches only a little, but his eyes light up in appreciation.

They get the tattoos. Makoto cries. But it’s okay, because Haru held his hand during the process and through his own because Makoto tears up at the _brr_ -ing sound of the needle even when he's not the one getting tattooed.  


The next time they all go swimming together with the old gang (Nagisa, Rei—who is still being harassed by the small blonde—Gou, Rin and surprisingly enough, Nitori—who after a stint in America, changed.  _A lot._ ), questions burst upon seeing Makoto with the pair of outstretched wings. He can only blush and stammer out that: no, I don’t regret it, yes it hurt, yes I cried Nagisa, Haru designed it for me—!

At the mention of Haru, Rin grabs him and spins him around checking his body from every angle—it’s not there, Rin!—until he finally spots the tiny inked whale just to the right of where Haru’s ribs start. Everyone clamours around the two of them cooing about how cute they are and by the end of the day, very little swimming occurred and Makoto’s face would have put a ripe tomato to shame.

When they get home, Makoto turns to Haru and opens his mouth. Before he can say anything though, Haru’s lips are on his and anything he was going to protest is muffled. As the thoughts in Makoto’s brains are thoroughly being turned into mush, Makoto is able to dimly discern Haru’s murmured ‘I love you’ through the blood pounding in his ears.

He thinks that maybe, he doesn’t mind being dragged along by Haru’s every whim.

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr post [here](http://iqhfq.tumblr.com/post/102864825745/)


End file.
